He compared the president to Soviet despot Joseph Stalin for calling five news outlets 'the enemy of the American people'

Flake slammed Trump for using 'words infamously spoken by Joseph Stalin to describe his enemies'

The Republican announced in October he would no longer run for re-election under the Trump administration

Only two fellow senators, both Democrats, attended Wednesday's speech

White House fired back saying Flake 'has terrible poll numbers' and is 'looking for some attention'

Press secretary noted that while Flake complained about despots, he defended Cuba's government this month over 'sonic weapon' attacks on U.S. diplomats

Arizona lawmaker Jeff Flake compared Donald Trump to Soviet dictator Joseph Stalin on Wednesday, delivering a blistering attack on the president to a nearly empty U.S. Senate chamber.

The Republican has become one of Trump's favorite targets, earning a presidential nickname  'Jeff Flakey'  since his impending retirement has freed him to openly castigate the White House on several fronts.

'It is a testament to the condition of our democracy that our own president uses words infamously spoken by Josef Stalin to describe his enemies,' Flake said, citing a Trump tweet in which he branded five news outlets 'the enemy of the American people.'

Flake said that 'so fraught with malice was the phrase "enemy of the people" that even Nikita Khrushchev forbade its use, telling the Soviet Communist Party that the phrase had been introduced by Stalin for the purpose of "annihilating such individuals" who disagreed with the supreme leader.'

(Watch Flaky's video at link)

'We are in an era in which the authoritarian impulse is reasserting itself,' Flake claimed.

Only two senators, Democrats Dick Durbin of Illinois and Amy Klobuchar of Minnesota, attended the 15-minute speech that was highly anticipated by reporters and editors.

But Flake let his disdain for the Trump White House show, saying that 'the free press is the despot's enemy, which makes the free press the guardian of democracy.'

The White House fired back hours later, noting that Flake had visited Cuba this month for a trip in which he defended the communist government there over accusations that it had made American diplomats ill with an unspecified 'sonic weapon.'

'He's the one who was recently defending an actually oppressive regime,' White House press secretary Sarah Sanders said during a briefing on Wednesday. 'He went to Cuba a few weeks ago and served as a mouthpiece for the oppressive Cuban government.'

'He's not criticizing the president because he's against oppression,' Sanders insisted. 'He's criticizing the president because he has terrible poll numbers. And he is, I think, looking for some attention.'

'We are in an era in which the authoritarian impulse is reasserting itself,' Flake claimed.

Only two senators, Democrats Dick Durbin of Illinois and Amy Klobuchar of Minnesota, attended the 15-minute speech that was highly anticipated by reporters and editors.

But Flake let his disdain for the Trump White House show, saying that 'the free press is the despot's enemy, which makes the free press the guardian of democracy.'

The White House fired back hours later, noting that Flake had visited Cuba this month for a trip in which he defended the communist government there over accusations that it had made American diplomats ill with an unspecified 'sonic weapon.'

'He's the one who was recently defending an actually oppressive regime,' White House press secretary Sarah Sanders said during a briefing on Wednesday. 'He went to Cuba a few weeks ago and served as a mouthpiece for the oppressive Cuban government.'

'He's not criticizing the president because he's against oppression,' Sanders insisted. 'He's criticizing the president because he has terrible poll numbers. And he is, I think, looking for some attention.'

Flake's speech came on the day the White House has promised to bestow 'Fake News Awards' on reporters the president loves to hate.

'The interest in, and importance of, these awards is far greater than anyone could have anticipated!,' Trump said last week on Twitter.

But the White House said Tuesday that it was merely a 'potential event.'

By Wednesday, Trump officials were saying the awards were back on.

'We are very excited about the Fake News Awards. ... There'll be an announcement a little bit later,' deputy press secretary Raj Shah told Fox News in the early afternoon.

Flake said 'it beggars belief that an American president would engage in such a spectacle, but here we are.'

'When a figure in power reflexively calls any press that doesn't suit him "fake news",' he added, 'it is that person who should be the figure of suspicion, not the press.'

Flake announced in October that he would not run for re-election, citing the 'alarming and dangerous state of affairs' under the Trump administration and blaming fellow Republicans for their 'complicity.'

The senator had no practical chance of winning another term, according to most political analysts.

But he upbraided his fellow lawmakers for failing to stand in Trump's way. Senators Dick Durbin and Amy Klobuchar, both Democrats, were the only lawmakers who attended Flake's speech +7

Senators Dick Durbin and Amy Klobuchar, both Democrats, were the only lawmakers who attended Flake's speech

'An American president who cannot take criticism, who must constantly deflect and distort and distract, who must find someone else to blame is charting a very dangerous path. And a Congress that fails to act as a check on the president adds to the danger,' Flake declared.

On Tuesday night The Washington Post published an op-ed by John McCain, Flake's fellow Arizona senator, complaining about Trump's treatment of the political press and saying the president is setting a dangerous tone for despots 'who are already using his words as cover as they silence and shutter one of the key pillars of democracy.'

'While administration officials often condemn violence against reporters abroad, Trump continues his unrelenting attacks on the integrity of American journalists and news outlets,' he wrote.

'The phrase "fake news"  granted legitimacy by an American president  is being used by autocrats to silence reporters, undermine political opponents, stave off media scrutiny and mislead citizens,' McCain added.

Poster Comment:

Listening to Flake speak, using words such as honesty and integrity, was nauseating. The senator can pronounce the words but has no concept of their meanings. While I watched him carry on, I was reminded of why I despise politicians.

You must understand. The leading Bolsheviks who took over Russia were not Russians. They hated Russians. They hated Christians. Driven by ethnic hatred they tortured and slaughtered millions of Russians without a shred of human remorse. The October Revolution was not what you call in America the Russian Revolution. It was an invasion and conquest over the Russian people. More of my countrymen suffered horrific crimes at their bloodstained hands than any people or nation ever suffered in the entirety of human history. It cannot be understated. Bolshevism was the greatest human slaughter of all time. The fact that most of the world is ignorant of this reality is proof that the global media itself is in the hands of the perpetrators.

Lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender rights in Israel are the most advanced in the Middle East, and one of the most advanced in Asia. Although same-sex sexual activity was legalized in 1988, the former law against sodomy had not been enforced since a court decision of 1963

That is some very harsh language for a Mormon kid. Flake had to be very embarrassed. Worse than being caught drinking a hot beverage or a Coke with ice!

Apparently, he took the kid on some extended survival trek because of the incident. Flake goes for that stuff anyway. I recall about 5 years ago he took a vacation all alone on some deserted Pacific island for a week.

Well, they're Mormons so undoubtedly the Flakes are all Boy Scouts. So camping and hiking are routine. The Mormons are really big on Scouts. You probably recall that Romney was a Scouts bigwig for years. And he still is. If he tells the Scouts to do something, they'll probably just do it.

Keep in mind, there is no identifiable group of any kind that has voted more loyally Republican since the founding of the party. Mormons are as Republican as they are a pack of Boy Scouts (literally).

Also, Flake may be far less of a thorn in Trump's side than Romney replacing Hatch. I really wish Jason Chaffetz had chosen to file but I think he knows Romney would mop him up. Romney is the bee's knees in the Mormo-American community even if he is just carpetbagging his way into Utah (from his homes in California and New Hampshire; he sold the family home in Massachusetts some years back).